Musings of an American expat in Bulgaria (with detours in Utah and Alaska)

Recent Buys {That I LOVE!}

Admittedly, I have had a wee little shopping problem lately. I think do that when I get stressed. Thankfully, its slowed way down (I kind of had no choice).

*Vince, if you are reading this, I promise it’s not as bad as it looks! I love you! ♥

I did get some great stuff though, and thought I’d share:

This cute and quite useful hard-plastic cup from Wal-Mart (AKA Satan’s Five & Dime). They are quite the rage and I see why. You get that “fountain” beverage feel even when you are, like me, drinking water (I rarely drink soda). I tend to reuse plastic water bottles, which as it turns out, isn’t all that healthy what with the chemicals and leaching of the chemicals (it’s all very scientific). So this cup is perfect (and BPA free!). It’s also insulated and keeps my ice water icier for longer! Oh, and the polka dots? So cute!

Essie fingernail polish in Turquoise and Caicos (THE perfect match for “Tiffany Blue”) and Eternal Optimist (a pretty, rosy pink). At $8 per bottle, it’s spendy, but is probably the best nail polish I have ever used. It’s all I can do to not go out and pick up a few more bottles!

I LOVE Tiffany Blue

An adorable bow necklace from Target (on sale!). I didn’t have any rose gold in my jewelry collection, so I was happy to snag the last one they had.

The next few items were a complete splurge and totally frivolous. I have been watching far too many Youtube beauty “Guru” videos and suddenly I am a makeup junky. That’s how I roll. I tend to see something interesting or creative and have to do it myself. This can be seen in the copious amounts of scrapbooking supplies, yarn, how-to books, beads, etc. spread across my room (and in boxes in the basement). I usually start off strong but lose interest quickly (something I am trying to work on). But I figured spending some money on makeup isn’t a huge deal, I do wear it daily after all.

Anywho… On to the purchases:

Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Palette. I LOVE the eyeshadow colors in this set. As a fair-skinned redhead, neutrals are my friend. I was SO happy to get one of these. As it turns out, they are like the Tickle-me-Elmo (insert any hard-to-find product here!) of eyeshadows. They are sold out everywhere! There are huge waiting lists and I even heard girls wait outside stores for the doors to open the morning after a shipment comes in. I am a sap for things like this and simply had to have one largely because everyone else had to have one. After stalking Sephora.com for a week or so, they showed up one morning and I pounced (the story is a lot longer and entails Sephora’s website crashing, buying them from Amazon who then sold out and cancelled my order, then finally getting them again from Sephora. My friend A. suffered along with me). I wore a few of the colors today and they are pretty. Probably not worth all the hype (and money), but I am still glad I got one.

Too Faced Natural Eye Palette. I picked this one up when I thought I wasn’t going to be able to get the Naked palette. Looks like I am set for eyeshadow for the rest of my life!

Not going to detail each thing, but I got a bunch of stuff from the ELF cosmetics website (it’s also sold at Target). It’s super cheap – both in price and quality. An entire 12-piece brush set was only $5. The tiny little hairs that fall out and onto my face reflect the price. A few of the things are good, but I probably won’t repurchase many of the items.

To hold all my new goodies (and the other stuff I already own and never use), I got a Caboodle makeup case. I think I had one of these as a little girl so it was probably nostalgia that caused me to overlook the tweeny look of the thing. I mean purple is my favorite color, but wow.

Makes me feel 12 again!

Lastly, the thing I am most excited about…

A UNIVERSAL VOLTAGE GHD straightener and hair dryer (with a cute bonus heat-proof bag). I think I may have mentioned it before, but I was super sad to find out that I would not be able to bring my CHI straightening iron to Bulgaria. Apparently, using a voltage converter with high-end appliances causes them to die (read:explode). I have extremely thick and frizzy hair, so a straightener is a must. The kit was expensive, but I got a great deal at Costco. The straightener alone sells for $205 on GHD’s website. I tested it out and it’s amazing! I love my CHI but this GHD beats it hands down.

So, what exactly does this post prove? Well, clearly that I like to make up words (WordPress is yelling at me for “icier,” “spendy,” and “tweeny”) and also spend money that I don’t have!

I like to think that all these things were necessary purchases for my move… That will make me feel better when I get my credit card bills, right? 😉

And I am suddenly wondering why I am writing a post about my shopping habits. Maybe it’s my own version of a “haul” video (again, I have got to lay off the YouTube beauty videos).

6 thoughts on “Recent Buys {That I LOVE!}”

I hunted the Naked palette for months too. One day I walked into Ulta and there was three! I nearly ran to the register with one. I wasn’t majorly in love with it at first but it’s pretty much my daily palette now. Except the primer. I use TF’s Shadow Insurance.
I am glad I am not the only one junked out on YouTube’s beauty gurus! I’ve learned to control it but occassionally I get the urge to go purchase the exact products they are reviewing or just got in their haul. But yeah, I’m in recovery mode.
Essie is AMAZING! I want to go get this color now, it’s perfect for spring.
If you don’t mind me asking, how much was your GHD iron? My stylist has been pushing me to get one for almost 2 years now.

Yeah, I was really happy to get my Naked palette! Haven’t used it much yet, but I will I am sure. I would definitely go and get Essie’s Turquoise and Caicos. It’s totally a springy color! It stays on forever too. I bought the GHD Dazzle set from Costco. I got it because it is Universal Voltage (which I need for my move to Europe). It came with the straightener, a travel hair dryer and a really cute heat proof bag, all for $170. The exact same set sells for $240 at Sephora and even higher on other sites, so it was a GREAT deal at Costco. It comes with the Professional 1″ straightener, and it’s amazing! Works much faster and doesn’t pull my hair, so I think it’ll be less damaging on my hair. I would definitely recommend them!

Hey,you have purchased really nice things .As you said shopping therapy seemed to be the perfect remedy for the stress(at least it works for me).I found your blog through the one of Carolyn and who knows, once you move to BG we can meet :).

Shopping definitely does feel like retail therapy! Too bad I can’t afford to do more of it. I am always up for getting to know Bulgarians. I want to have some friends when I arrive. I was worried I would have to get a cat when I got there so that I would have a buddy. Thanks for reading and keep in touch.

No way!!! I had that EXACT purple case when I was little! Unfortunately, mine ended up plastered with various colors of nail polish, but what else can you expect of a 9-year-old with far too much time and creativity on her hands? Le sigh, I miss it now. 😛 Thanks, Whit.

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Hello there!

I'm Whitney...an American gal married to a Bulgarian gent living an adventurous life outside of little Trapper Creek, Alaska. Here on GMB I write about the good, the bad, and the funny that come along with a life of continued wanderlust. I'm addicted to travel, photography, crafting, eating good food, and spending time with my adorable hubs. All of these topics (and more!) are frequently featured, so...pull up a chair and stay awhile! I would love to get to know you!

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